Well, a large majority of us are pleased that the school levy has passed. Thanks to the committee for their work, and phone calls, on this issue.

Now that I finally have connected with the school web site, there will always be plenty of news. For example, the Missoula Children's Theater auditions for "Princess and the Pea" are on March 7, with the performance on March 11. This highly successful program has come to Trout Lake for several years in a row, always fun to watch.

Middle and high school track are starting up soon, too. This time of year I always resolve to go the state track meet in May -- one of the year's most exciting events -- but so far my track record, so to speak, hasn't been very good for actually getting there.

The robotics team participated in a preliminary meet in Camas this past Saturday and did very well. They are in the home stretch to the actual competition. The team has developed a robot to meet set challenges, in this case to pick up certain items in a certain order and put them down in certain locations. The Trout Lake machine is about four feet tall with a long arm and a pneumatic claw. Go to You Tube and look for "Trout Lake Team 3711 Scrimmage" for the robot's first dunk. There is another video of the robot with a mustang head, all blue and great-looking.

Thanks to Katy McKinney for this news, and a big GOOD LUCK to the teams. Trout Lake School has three Destination Imagination teams preparing for their upcoming regional competition which will be held March 5 in Issaquah. Two different problems have been chosen by the three teams. One problem is called Triple Take Road Show. In this problem, the team portrays a traveling road show which takes its performance on the road to perform for three different pretend audiences. The team uses three different storytelling methods in order to suit the performance to the various audiences. In addition, they have to depict a variety of travel methods as they move from audience to audience and must include a "Technical Spectacle" of some sort in their performance.

The other problem is called Mythology Mission. This problem has a strong improvisational emphasis, which is a first for any Trout Lake team. During their performance, the team has to integrate three improv elements: a culture chosen from a group they've researched, a mythical creature, and three souvenirs. They will be given a 4th improv element and an unexpected problem shortly before performing; all of these elements must be integrated into their skit.